Hazel's

December Seventh (Part One)

Clair's mother was visiting town for her birthday and arrived yesterday. She rented a cab and checked in at a hotel right off campus, then took a bus over to Clair's sorority. Clair tried to get me to come meet her, but I was terrified! What if she hated me? I didn't want to risk taking the chance. But then, Clair came over with Chinese takeout and put on her sad puppy dog face while begging me to go meet her mother. It was too cute to resist, so I finally caved in.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I adjusted my dark blue checkered polo until the collar looked crisp enough, smoothed down my khakis, and combed through my hair with my fingers. If I wanted to play the 'good boyfriend' card, I had to look the part. We were meeting at some local restaurant for lunch, where Clair's mother would probably interrogate me until I cried. Who's mother wouldn't if their daughter was dating somebody new? I took a deep breath and spoke to myself inspirationally in the mirror for about four minutes. After slipping into some brown loafers and throwing on a jacket, I left the dorm before I had the chance to change my mind. 

The bus ride there gave me some time to think about the kind of impression I would want to make on Clair's mother. Would I try to be the funny boyfriend, the smart boyfriend, the mature boyfriend, or the confident boyfriend? My knees shook with anxiety as my head got hot with worry. The moment finally came where I had to get off the bus.

As soon as I stepped off I felt like turning around and getting back on, but I kept walking forward until I was at the front door of the restaurant Clair told me to meet them at. It was called 'Zach's Grill'. Original. Pushing the door open, my eyes searched the room until they landed on Clair's face. She was sitting across from a woman, who I assumed to be her mother, in a booth on the far left side of the restaurant. I walked over and took the leap of faith.

"Hi Clair". I sucked in my breath because Clair's mother was looking at me from her seat. She surprisingly looked less intimidating than I thought she would look. Her light blonde hair was pushed back from her face into a low bun, she had pale white skin, tired blue eyes, and a smile on her face. Clair smiled and waved at me, patting the seat next to her. I sat down as she slid over to make room for me.

"Well now, Clair. Aren't you going to introduce me to this handsome young man you've got sitting next to you? I'm not getting any younger!" she winked at me with a broad smile on her face. I smiled back and relaxed a little bit more. Clair blushed laughed quietly.

"I was getting there, Mom. Jeez. Anyways Mom, this is Spencer. Spencer, this is my mother".

"Now, Spencer. Call me Portia, okay?" Clair's mom smiled at me kindly and opened up her menu wide. "So tell me kids, what's good here?"

~ . ~ . ~

Lunch was a success. Clair's mom, er, Portia, was actually really cool. We talked about my major, biology, and Clair told her a little bit about her finance classes. Towards the end, Portia gave Clair a birthday present. It was a small box containing a pair of pearl earrings. Clair was so excited that she put them in right away. For dinner, I was planning on taking Clair out to a steakhouse on campus for our private little birthday celebration. She had no idea where we were going and she was going to let me drive so it would remain a surprise until we arrived.

I arrived at her sorority and rang the bell, expecting one of her sorority sisters to answer the door. To my surprise, a sexy looking Clair in a tight black minidress and heels opened the door to greet me.

"Hi," she whispered seductively, snaking a hand around my neck and softly brushing her lips against mine. I found myself speechless at her beauty. "Um, Spence, are you okay?" she asked me. I nervously licked my lips and swallowed.

"Yes," I answered. "You look amazing. I have no words..." she smiled at me and laced her fingers through mine.

"You don't look too shabby yourself," she winked up at me, leading the way over to her car. I ran out in front of her and opened the door for her. She smiled at me with a sarcastic smile on her face and mouthed 'thanks'. I just wanted to kiss her all night, she was perfect. I'd never felt this way about a girl before and to be honest, it was scaring the hell out of me. I pushed away the negative thoughts and got into the car. "Any clues on the venue?" she asked with a hopeful raise of her eyebrows. I smiled back at her with a mischevious look on my face.

"Guess you'll just have to wait and see, sweetheart". Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw her cheeks go red, but she quickly coughed to cover it up. "Can you wear that dress every day?" I asked innocently. She reached over and pinched my cheek, giggling.

"Only if you wear that plaid shirt that made you look like one of those body builder Abercrombie models," she laughed shyly and looked out the window.

"You know, you can turn on the radio if you want," I told her. She rolled her eyes at me, letting them linger on my for a few seconds before looking through my CD box. "Oh, you probably won't like much of that. It's older stuff. My  car has sattelite radio if you'd prefer that".

"Are you fucking kidding me? You listen to Black Sabbath?" she asked me with excitement surging through her syllables.

"Are you kidding? I love Black Sabbath! You like them too? Gosh, I knew that was a good decision!" I laughed to myself. She looked at me with a confused look on her face.

"What was a good decision?" she asked me. I took my right hand off the wheel, placing it on her left thigh. I felt her breathing tense up a little bit.

"Asking you to be my girlfriend" I responded. She looked at me with an extraordinary look on her face.

"You know, you really are something, Spencer," she said, placing a hand on top of mine.

"I know," I said as I turned into the Red Lobster restaurant parking lot.

"Shut up," she demanded in a shocked tone.

"What's wron--"

"Spencer, shut up. Shut up," she ordered again. I sat back in my seat nervously. "This is the nicest thing anybody's ever done for me," she whispered. I relaxed in my seat and grabbed her hands in mine, searching her beautiful hazel eyes.

"Well," I said, "I surely hope that's not the case, Clair. You're amazing". She smiled at me, this time, her blushing was completely exposed. Leaning over, she lightly pressed her lips to my cheek. We sat like that for a few minutes in a comfortable silence before I glanced at my watch. "Our reservation is now. Shall we? Or would you rather go to the McDonald's across the street?"

~ . ~ . ~